Barbara Dunlop - His Temptation, Her Secret

They were going to have to work this out somehow. But for now, the best she could do was one day at a time.

“Where’s your car?” he asked, stopping as she turned left on the sidewalk.

The parking lot was to the right.

“I’m taking the bus.”

He closed the gap between them. “Why would you do that?”

She didn’t want to tell him. But she didn’t want to make a big deal about it either.

She kept her tone blasé, matter-of-fact. “I don’t have a car.”

He blinked. “Who doesn’t have a car?”

“Me.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t.”

“How do you get to work?”

She could hear the diesel engine and the air brakes of a bus coming up the hill. She pointed to it.

“That’s crazy,” he said.

She didn’t like it much, but she’d sold her car a month ago when they’d started doing tests on Eli. Their meager insurance policy didn’t begin to cover all the costs.

“You need a car,” he said with authority.

“I had a car.”

“Did you crash it?”

“No, I didn’t crash it. I sold it.”

“Why would you—” He stopped, and his brows rose. “The medical bills.”

“Yes, the medical bills.”

There was no point in pretending. She was a single mother with a low-paying job and a sick child. Of all the things she had going for her in life, money wasn’t one of them.

“As of this second,” TJ said, “there are no medical bills. You have no medical bills.”

“You can’t—”

“I can, and I am. How much have you paid so far?”

“None of your business.”

“You want me to guess?”

“No, I don’t want you to guess.” It was her pride arguing with him. There was no practical purpose for insisting on footing the bill herself. From everything she knew, he had money to burn.

“I’ll drive you home.”

“I have a bus pass.”

“It’s nearly eleven. You’re not getting on the bus.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “I’m a functioning adult, TJ. I don’t need you or anyone else to take care of me. I’ve been on this bus dozens of times at night. And I don’t need your permission to do it again.”

“I’m offering you a simple favor.”

“You’re...” She paused. She was exhausted, and it was twenty minutes until the Number Seven bus arrived. She had to transfer at the downtown station, which would mean an additional fifteen-minute wait before she boarded the final bus. She was being a fool to turn him down.

She closed her eyes for a second. “Okay. Thank you. That will be quicker.”

“Are you always this stubborn?”

She gave him a glare.

“I mean good. My car is this way.” He pointed to the south lot.

“I’m used to being self-reliant,” she said, although she didn’t owe him an explanation.

“Your life has changed,” he said.

“So has yours.”

He used his remote to unlock the doors to a low-slung red sports car.

“Drastically,” she added, contrasting it to the fifteen-year-old minivan she’d recently sold.

He opened the passenger door and stood waiting for her to get in. “We’re in this together, Sage.”

She didn’t like his phrasing. “We have a common interest.”

“We have a child together.”

She didn’t have another response, so she got into the car.

The seats were smooth leather, cool and comfortable, cradling her body, filling the car with a subtle earthy scent. The navigation screen and dashboard made her think of a space shuttle. The seat belt came out smoothly, clipping effortlessly together.

TJ swung into the driver’s seat.

“Where to?” he asked, pressing the start button.

“North on Fairton Road.”

“You live downtown?”

“It’s close to work.”

Her rented basement suite was in an older part of the city. Gentrification was taking place near the water, but it hadn’t yet made it to Fir Street. That kept rent low, for which she was grateful. But the nearby development was also pushing trouble closer and closer to her block.

TJ paid the parking charges and exited the lot.

It was a short drive to the highway, and there their speed increased.

The ride was smooth, and the sports car hugged the road. It was like floating on a cushion of air. It was so much better than the bus. She leaned her head back against the soft headrest and watched the strobe of streetlights above.

Too soon, they came to her exit.

She directed him to her neighborhood and pointed out the right house.

He pulled to the curb, setting the brake and shutting off the engine. He stared through the windshield. “Who are those guys?”

As she unbuckled her seat belt, Sage took in a group of teens and young adults in front of the corner market. There were six of them, scruffy-looking, all male. A couple of them were smoking, another couple were showing an interest in TJ’s car.

“They look worse than they are.” Sage had never been bothered by anyone.

“Are there a lot of drugs around here?”

“How would I know?”

He gave her a frown.

“No more and no less than in other parts of the city. I don’t pay that much attention.”

She was used to the neighborhood. She saw it every day. Sure, sometimes litter collected in the gutters. And the lawns weren’t exactly fine-trimmed. Some of them were barely lawns. But the MacAfees next door were a lovely retired couple, and Sage’s landlord, Hank Taylor, owned the bakery two blocks down. He was a hardworking, fiftysomething man who looked out for her and Eli.

TJ opened his door and got out, staring levelly at the group of boys.

Sage followed and got out her side.

“Ignore them,” she told TJ.

“They’re trying to decide if they can intimidate me.”

“If you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you.”

“I don’t want them to bother my car.”

“Don’t be paranoid.” She started across the sidewalk for the worn stepping stones that led to the basement entrance.

“How long have you lived here?” he asked, falling into step.

“Since Eli was two.”

“Has it always been like this?” His tone was clearly critical.

“You mean low-rent?”

“This is a little more than low-rent.”

She inserted her key into the doorknob and turned it open.

“No dead bolt?” he asked.

“It’s not exactly a high crime district.”

“Could have fooled me.”

Insulted and annoyed, she stepped into the doorway and turned. “Thanks for the ride, TJ.”

He looked confused. “You don’t want to talk?”

“About?”

“About our situation.” His gaze took in the room behind her.

It was clean. Maybe a little cluttered, since she’d spent so much time at the hospital the past two weeks. There were dishes in the drainer and a basket of clean laundry on the sofa. She’d been to the Laundromat but hadn’t had time to put everything away.

She realized he had to be used to far more opulent surroundings, but she wasn’t going to apologize. She had a limited budget. Eli had a safe, clean place to live. His school was basic, but the teachers were dedicated. And the park down the street was part of a city beautification project and was a perfectly nice place for him to play.

“I’m tired,” she said to TJ. “Can we talk tomorrow?”

He glanced at his watch. “I really don’t want to leave you here alone.”

“It’s my home. You’re being both ridiculous and insulting.”

She’d been aware of the neighborhood slipping in recent years. But it was still a perfectly fine place to live.

“There are thugs on the front sidewalk.”

“Those are kids.”

“Those kids have been shaving for more than a few years. They could be armed.”